Q: My teenage son was killed while a passenger in a car driven by a friend who was texting while driving. Can I file a wrongful death claim, or do I have to wait for the police to charge the driver with a crime?

A:

Everyone at our Harrisburg traffic accident law firm is very sorry to hear about your son.

Pennsylvania law says that “any person who drives any vehicle in willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property is guilty of reckless driving.” Reckless driving is considered a serious offense when it leads to a death, with a minimum fine of $25,000 and up to 12 months in jail.

Careless driving, a lesser charge, is subject to a fine of $500 and up to 90 days in jail when it results in death.

Law enforcement officials—both police and your local prosecutor—get to decide what charges to bring against the person who was driving when your son was killed. Texting while driving is itself against the law in Pennsylvania, so it is possible that the circumstances of the incident could support either a reckless driving or careless driving charge.

A reckless driving charge requires a higher standard of proof. However, you should recognize that the prosecutor has great discretion in bringing criminal charges. He may decide that the evidence is not sufficient enough to bring the case to trial, or he may negotiate with the driver’s criminal defense lawyer to get a guilty plea to a lesser charge.

So our answer to your question is no, you should not wait for criminal charges to be filed. You can file a wrongful death claim against the driver for texting while driving.

A wrongful death lawsuit is a key part of civil justice. It holds a negligent person responsible for the harm inflicted on family members by the untimely passing of their loved one. In the case of an unmarried teenager with no dependents, the damages from the wrongful death claim would normally go to the parents.

Often, parents turn away from the change to pursue a wrongful death claim because they feel it’s an attempt to profit from the death of their child—nothing could be further from the truth. A wrongful death lawsuit is designed to uphold justice by publicly identifying the person responsible for ending another person’s life, and by compensating the family as much as possible for their losses, such as:

Medical expenses from the fatal accident

Funeral and burial costs

Emotional trauma

Lost companionship of your son for the future

Punitive damages for callously neglecting passenger safety

The dangers of texting while driving are well known. When a driver engages in texting, he demonstrates his indifference to the well-being of pedestrians, passengers, and the occupants of other vehicles. A wrongful death lawsuit is one of the best ways to hold this driver accountable and serve a warning to all other drivers.

Schmidt Kramer offers free, confidential case reviews for people who believe they may have valid wrongful death cases stemming from a Pennsylvania auto accident.

Contact our Harrisburg office at 717-888-8888 locally or 888-476-0807 toll-free to discuss the specifics of your situation with an experienced wrongful death attorney in Pennsylvania.

Recent Results click below to expand

Gerry Kramer won a personal injury action for $10,043,952.13 in Northumberland County on behalf of a volunteer firefighter who was the victim of Intentional Tort. The 50-year-old volunteer firefighter was seriously injured when a barn collapsed, causing a spinal injury which left him a paraplegic. The claim was brought against the arsonist who intentionally started the fire. It is believed that the verdict is the highest ever in Northumberland County.

A couple from New Berlin, Pennsylvania was awarded over $4,000,000 because the husband was shot while turkey hunting. The 51 year old client lost his sight because a convicted felon - who should not have even possessed a gun - went hunting illegally, and broke with impunity the most fundamental rule in hunting: identify your target before you pull the trigger.

Scott Cooper obtained a verdict on behalf of his client who is the widow of a man who died in a crash on Interstate 78 in Lebanon County. The awarded verdict of $2.2 million was in a nonjury proceeding before a federal judge in the Middle District of Pennsylvania. That verdict includes $100,000 in punitive damages assessed against the owner of the trucking company.

Scott Cooper settled a wrongful death case on behalf of the widow of a police office who was killed in a car accident in the line of duty for $1,024,040.80. The claim against the other driver was amicably resolved before suit was filed for the entire available policy limits for the other driver. The case took place in Adams County, PA.

Gerry Kramer won a $950,000.00 suit in Perry County for a motor vehicle accident. The personal injury action for a wrongful death was filed on behalf of a 19-year-old female killed in the accident. The victim was a passenger in a vehicle that left the roadway striking a fixed object.

Scott Cooper settled a wrongful death claim for $742,000 on behalf of a the estate of a trash worker killed in a car accident in Franklin County. The case was amicably resolved for all of the available insurance policy coverage for the other driver and under insured motorist carrier. Also, Mr. Cooper was able to amicably resolved all subrogation interests with the worker's compensation carrier for a lump sum and agreement for the subrogation claim to be waived in full.

Gerry Kramer won a $215,000.00 personal injury action on behalf of a drunk driving victim in York County. The victim was a 56-year-old man who was struck by drunk driver in Lancaster County, PA. He suffered a subdural hematoma which resulted in severe headaches.